ANALYZING SETTING HOW PLACE EFFECTS A STORY Page

ANALYZING SETTING HOW PLACE EFFECTS A STORY Page 310 -315

Role of Setting Explaination Example Characterization Setting can affect characters by: • Determining the jobs and living conditions available to them • Influencing their values, attitudes, and emotions Small-town rural life had taken its toll on Garrett. He was sick of being around people who had no intention of finishing school or exploring the world. Garrett was determined to do more with his life than settle for a job on his family’s farm. Creating Conflict Setting can create conflicts by: • Exposing the characters to dangerous weather or natural disasters • Making the characters live through difficult time periods, events, or situations, such as poverty or war The flood had ravaged their home beyond repair and destoyed their personal belongings. For the Tilak family, the loss was devastating. It would take months, even years, for them to rebuild. WHAT IS SETTING? Setting is the time and place in which the action of a text occurs. • Time includes the particular season, year, time of day, or historical period • Place includes the actual, physical place Setting is revealed when an author describes details about the time or place. It might include description of clothing or lifestyle – anything that helps you visualize the place and time the author is talking about in vivid detail.

WITH A PARTNER… Think of four stories that you are both familiar with. List the stories in a chart, like the one below. Then discuss the role of the setting in the story. Is it just a backdrop for the story? Does it affect the characters? Does it create conflict? Time: 20 minutes (5 minutes per story) Story Setting Role of Setting The Drummer Boy of Shiloh A crowded army camp in peach orchard near Shiloh church in Tennessee during the month of April early in the Civil War The setting makes Joby nervous because of the sounds and the closeness of the battle

ON YOUR OWN… v. Read the selection from When My Name was Keoko by Linda Sue Park on page 311. Answer the Close Read questions in your journal. How has the setting affected Sun-hee as a person? v. Time: 15 minutes v. Read the selection from Memory Boy by Will Weaver on page 311. Answer the Close Read questions in your journal. How has the setting created conflict? v. Time: 15 minutes

SETTING AND MOOD What is Mood? • Mood is the feeling or atmosphere that a writer creates for readers. To create mood, the author will carefully choose words and details to include in the story.

HOW DOES SETTING CREATE MOOD? • Descriptions of a Setting Does the story take place in an abandoned house on a stormy night, or on a crowded beach during the summer? The writers choice of setting and the words he or she uses to describe it can create mood. • The forest at the edge of town was even more ominous at night. There wasn’t a house or store within two miles. So far, no one in Jake’s class had been brave enough to explore it. • Imagery is language that appeals to your senses in a way that affects your emotions and establishes a mood. For instance, images such as squeals of laughter and a rainbow of beach umbrellas convey a cheerful mood. • He walked hesitantly, leaves crunching under his feet. Bare trees hovered over him, casting armlike shadows across his path. His heart hammered in his chest as he inched forward. • Descriptions of Characters’ Speech or feelings often tell us what mood the author is trying to create. What is the character saying, thinking, or feeling? How does that make you feel? • Jake couldn’t believe he accepted the dare. “What was I thinking? ” he muttered to himself, stopping suddenly when he heard approaching footsteps. Fear paralyzed him.

WITH A PARTNER • Pick a mood word: happy, sad, scary, somber, exciting, carefree, cheerful, tense, anxious • In your journal, write down the answers to the following three questions • What kinds of places could help create this mood? What time of day or year would be most effective in creating this mood? • What details that appeal to your senses of sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell would enhance this mood? • What might characters do or say to build this mood? You may give general examples or refer to a story you have read as an example. Time: 15 minutes

ON YOUR OWN… • Do the activity on Page 313 comparing the mood and setting of Little Women by Louisa May Alcott to the mood and setting of Max by Chaim Potok in your journal. • Time: 20 minutes

USING SETTING AND MOOD TO ANALYZE LITERATURE Inference • We can use the mood that an author conveys through setting to guess (making inferences) about what will happen later. Read the excerpt from Journey to Topaz • Where does this scene take place? What three details reveal the setting? • What conflicts has the setting created for the characters? • Reread the boxed lines which reveal Yuki’s first impression of her new home. Which word describes the mood of this sceen? A. hopeful B. bleak C. threatening